


The Real Thing

by fireflysglow_archivist



Category: Firefly
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-09-06
Updated: 2005-09-06
Packaged: 2019-04-29 10:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14470740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireflysglow_archivist/pseuds/fireflysglow_archivist
Summary: Kaylee's doing her best to make Mal a special surprise for his birthday, but her enthusiasm may not be quite enough.





	The Real Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Firefly’s Glow](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Firefly%27s_Glow), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Firefly's Glow collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fireflysglow/profile).
> 
>  **Author's notes:** Funny little bit of fluff, written for my friend Zinjadu's birthday. Zoe's POV.

  
Author's notes: Funny little bit of fluff, written for my friend Zinjadu's birthday. Zoe's POV.   


* * *

The Real Thing

## The Real Thing

"Kaylee, what the hell is going on in here?" 

A jumble of bowls, bags, and boxes surrounded the young mechanic, covering the whole table, and in place of her usual engine grease, a smudge of yellowish goop stood out on her cheek. The biggest bowl, right in front of her, seemed to be the source of the goop. 

"'Makin' a cake for the captain," Kaylee replied very seriously. 

"So you had to smush all the protein up with... Kaylee, eggs? The protein's already got protein in it, you don't need to use eggs," Zoe reminded her, trying to be gentle. The girl got some odd ideas sometimes, especially when it came to trying to make other people happy. 

"Right, but this isn't protein powder. It's real flour!" Kaylee held up a little box proudly. "I had my momma send me her recipe, so I could make a real cake this time. Captain deserves it, with all he's done for us." 

Zoe regarded the mess around Kaylee dubiously. "Honey, are you sure you know what you're doing?" 

"Sure! All right here on the card, ain't it? Can't be that difficult. I had to mess around with the ingredients some, `cause it's not like we've got..." she scanned the card, "'real vanilla extract,' but we've got all the basics. Well, after I bought the real flour we did, anyway." 

"What about real flour?" Simon stepped into the dinging room, smiled at Kaylee, and then visibly blanched when he saw the mess on the table. "Oh. Flour. I see." He couldn't much avoid it, Zoe thought - the flour was everywhere on the table, the surrounding floor, and Kaylee herself, dusting her green coveralls with patches of what looked like dust. 

"Hi, Simon - making a cake for the captain's birthday. River helped me with the recipe, too," Kaylee added brightly. 

Zoe checked Simon's reaction, curious to see what he thought of his off-kilter sister assisting with something they would all soon have to at least <i>pretend</i> to eat. She was not disappointed. 

"Umm, Kaylee... River's never cooked in her life. Not so much as a cupcake." 

Kaylee, naturally, was undeterred. "No, silly, `course she hasn't. That's like saying Inara'd wash floors or something; it'd be silly, they're _ladies_. She helped me with the conversions. Mama's recipe's real old, she uses measurements I don't know. So River helped me put `em into something I could work with." 

"Oh." Simon looked only a little comforted. Considering the display River had made of herself just the day before by running around the dining room reciting the times tables for a base-seven numeric system that had no connection to reality as the rest of the crew knew it, Zoe had a pretty fair idea that this information did not necessarily encourage the doctor. He leaned over the batter, his brow creasing. "So, what kind of cake is it?" 

"Yellow cake," Kaylee answered cheerfully. "I'm not real sure what that means, but it smells good, don't it? And it's a nice color of yellow, too. You think the captain likes yellow?" 

"I'm sure he will," Zoe replied, trying to decide whether to go ahead and warn Mal or not. It might be more worthwhile to watch him squirm at the moment Kaylee revealed her project. 

"Did you put berries in, or nuts?" 

Kaylee suddenly looked worried. "Neither... were there s'posed to be?" 

Simon blinked, his expression taking on the look that the rest of the crew had come to recognize as his `foot so far down his throat he could perform his own rectal exam' face. "Uh. No... but then what are the little... lumps?" 

Kaylee bent down over the batter. "Well... can't expect it'll be totally smooth, right? It's got all kinds of stuff in it. I've been stirring for somethin' like an hour, so if it's not flat yet I guess it's not gonna be." 

Zoe had a feeling that if Simon had ever read historical books, he was probably reliving stories of live weevils in the flour back during the colonization days on Earth-that-was. She'd had worse, and the look on his face at least made it funny. This was getting better by the minute. 

"Right, well... Can't wait to try it, Kaylee. I'm sure Captain Reynolds'll be really... It smells great," he finished, looking a little weak. "I'd better get back to the infirmary, I have to finish my inventory before we hit Windfall tomorrow." The boy deserved a medal for his good cheer in the face of disturbing situations, Zoe admitted to herself. And he seemed to be getting better at holding his tongue back from insulting Kaylee, too. 

"Okay, see you at dinner!" Kaylee waved as he left, then set about to pouring the batter into a pan, which Zoe tried not to think of as closely resembling the sort of dripping pan one might use to catch oil under a leaky engine part. "You heading off, too, Zoe?" 

"Yeah, I've gotta go get some work done..." 

"You'll be at dinner, though?" 

Zoe paused for a moment, then pictured Mal struggling to be graceful and appreciative of a cake that increasingly looked like some sort of monster from a bad penny dreadful. 

"I wouldn't miss it." 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:   **The Real Thing**   
Author:   **Rivendellrose**   [website]   
Details:   **Standalone**  |  **G**  |  **gen**  |  **4k**  |  **09/06/05**   
Characters:  Zoe, Kaylee, Simon   
Pairings:  none   
Summary:  Kaylee's doing her best to make Mal a special surprise for his birthday, but her enthusiasm may not be quite enough.   
Notes:  Funny little bit of fluff, written for my friend Zinjadu's birthday. Zoe's POV.   
  



End file.
